Joe Cole’s time at Chelsea under Jose Mourinho was arguably the most influential period of his career.
Cole headed west across London following West Ham’s relegation in 2003 and swapped a survival scrap for a title push. Mourinho arrived 12 months later, fresh from his Champions League success with Porto and quickly brought about new levels of intensity, relentless demands and blunt honesty which would elevate the playmaker to new levels.
The Portuguese delivered the Premier League title in his first season and Cole has hailed the impact he had on his career.
Joe Cole on how Mourinho made him better
“Playing for Jose Mourinho was like joining a cult – it’s probably like that with all the great managers,” Cole tells FourFourTwo. “He gave us that confidence, that swagger, that belief that he had in himself.
“He’d just won the Champions League with Porto and made us feel as though we were unbeatable, impenetrable.
“Some of it was because of his training methods, and some of it was his man management and the culture he set, the drive that he instilled within us. He recognised the winners early on – that gets underestimated.
“The players who couldn’t do what he wanted were out of the door straight away. Bang. He pushed and pushed, he knew which players he could rely on. He was brilliant at that.
“Mourinho pushed me a lot, too. Early in that first season with him, I scored the winner against Liverpool, but he wasn’t happy with me. In his post-match interview, he said something like, “Joe Cole scored the winning goal, then he did nothing – he had a good face and an ugly face.”
“Basically what he was saying was I probably didn’t track as many runners as I should have done.
“Everyone else was like, “He said that about you?” I’m human, I’d prefer my manager to say nice things about me, but if I haven’t done what you wanted, please tell me, because I want to make sure I’m on the teamsheet next week.
“I had no problem with how honest he was. I made it my life’s work to track every runner after that.
“There were plenty of times when Jose said nice things about me though,
“After we knocked Barcelona out of the Champions League later that season, he shouted, “Joe Cole, we won because of him!” while we were celebrating on the pitch. I felt on top of the world.”
Joe Cole’s memoir Luxury Player is on sale now, published by Seven Dials
